Little Paladin – the Teen Years

I wasn’t planning on writing any more about leveling until level 60, but once your paladin hits 40, the game gets turned right around.

Mana issues? No more!

Dying easy? Yeah, right.

Slow boring fights? No wai!

It all picks right up around 40. Suddenly you’re fighting 5 mobs at a time, your mana bar is full and you’re not even breaking a sweat. I figured I needed to update some of the things I said in my last leveling post.
Spell/ability stuff

– Hand of reckoning followed by exorcism is still a nice way to pull, but not necessary. Now its running around, aggroing as much as possible and smacking down Consecration.
– At level 38, you learn Seal of Wisdom. Bye bye mana problems!
– Hand of Reckoning is still a finishing move, but now I kind of want mobs to run away. They bring back more stuff to kill so I don’t have to stop what I’m doing. I can just stand there and take it.
– I find myself alternating between Seal of Wisdom and Seal of Righteousness. Seems to work well.
– With now endless supply of mana and the Art of War always procced, the herbalism heal is less prominant, but still useful. Plus, the herbs in the level 30-45 zones sell for crazy amounts.

Talents

– The Pursuit of Justice/Divine Intellect build did give that extra oomph until level 38 when I got Seal of Wisdom. Up to you if you want to go that way then switch back to full ret at 38.
– I went like this at level 40. Mana isn’t a problem anymore so I went Art of War before Judgements of the Wise.
– Eye for Eye only works if you get critted. I sampled my combat log a few times and decided that I didn’t get critted enough for it to be worth the two talent points.
– Glyphs are pretty much the same, Judgement and Consecration.
– The minor glyphs were too expensive to be worth it on the server I play my little pally on, but I’d go with Might for now and maybe Sense Undead if I decide to spend a lot of time in the Plaguelands.

Gear

– After level 40, I wouldn’t bother with buying gear unless you find something very sexy, very cheap. But for the most part, you’re tough and strong enough to pwn faces without spending money on gear.
– I’ve been prioritizing Strength and it seems to work well for me. For some reason, Strength and Spirit often come together. I don’t get it, but it doesn’t matter.

Level in Style and Don’t be Broke

– I didn’t manage to get Dual Spec at level 40. I broke 1000g at level 43 and then I didn’t see the point in spending it all on dual spec.
– Level 30-45 zone herbs sell like hotcakes for nice prices.
– Medium/Heavy/Thick leather doesn’t sell for a whole lot, but it sells quickly and is easy to get, especially if you’re leveling in Stranglethorn Vale.
– Large Fangs sell strangely well for high amounts. Just to let you know.

PVP

– Ah! Leveling on a PVP server! I did get griefed by an 80 mage in Badlands. I got annoyed so I reported him on WoWJackass. I doubt they accepted my complaint since the site is more about loot ninjas and rude puggers and besides, getting griefed by 80s is part of the pvp server game, but it still felt good to whine.
– I got killed a few times by a Warrior in STV as well, but that was it. I don’t think lowbie ganking is all that common anymore since all the high levels are busy with bigger and better things on different continents. So all you people hiding away, it’s safe to come out in the open!
– I looked up some of the 80s I encountered on the armory. Is it further perpetuating stereotypes to say that both of the 80s that killed me were wearing greens while the T9+ people just ignored me? (One of them even let me live after I inadvertently killed her quest giver.)
– Some silly warlock my level tried to kill me. Ha! It was my first “OMG I’m so awesome” moment.
– I really need to get back into the BGs for some more “OMG I’m so awesome” moments. I’m all about feeling awesome.

And thus my little one pursues her journey in the vast unknown. Well, sort of unknown. Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention. I did say that at 40, the game picks up and stuff starts dying all around you. However, as easy as the killing gets, your experience bar breaks down and won’t budge. Be forewarned!